Topics and Trends in Most Cited Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research Papers

Ranked by citations 18 months after publication

Class of 2026 (Papers Published in 2024)

What topics and trends defined most-cited Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research research in the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 underscores a massive 5-fold surge in N-glycosylation research and a striking emergence of NF-κB signaling and sialylation studies. While O-GlcNAcylation focus halved, the field shows an accelerating convergence with cancer immunotherapy, leveraging molecular dynamics and stereoselective synthesis to decode complex glycan functions.

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Updated July 19, 2026

At a glance

Field
Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research
Cohort label
Class of 2026 (2024 publications)
Papers analyzed
4,997
Papers ranked
20
Top topics in ranked papers
N-glycosylation, post-translational modification, sialic acid
Publication window
Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024
Eligibility
Research articles; reviews excluded
Citation window
18 months post-publication
18m citation range
34–105
Data source
OpenAlex · Retrieved July 2026
License
CC BY 4.0

Rankings

20 papers ranked by 18-month citation count

#1 of 4,997
10518m citations

Designed endocytosis-inducing proteins degrade targets and amplify signals

Buwei Huang, Mohamad Abedi, Green Ahn, Brian Coventry et al.Nature202410.1038/s41586-024-07948-2

David BakerUniversity of Washington, United States

EndoTagsendocytosis-triggering binding proteinscomputational protein designlysosomal traffickingtargeted protein degradationinsulin-like growth factor 2 receptor (IGF2R)asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR)sortilin receptortransferrin receptorPD-L1 antibodyAND gate controlengineered cell secretionLYTACsKineTACsgenetically encoded degraderstissue-specific degradationendocytosis-dependent signaling amplificationantibody-drug conjugatestransmembrane protein targetingmouse tumor model
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#2 of 4,997
8818m citations

Direct radical functionalization of native sugars

Yi Jiang, Yi Wei et al.Nature202410.1038/s41586-024-07548-0

Benjamin G. Davis, Ming Joo KohNational University of Singapore, Singapore

native sugarscarbohydratesprotecting-group-free synthesisphotochemical glycosylationHomolytic chemistrysite-selective functionalizationstereoselective glycosylationanomeric functionalizationradical cross-couplingglycosyl donorcap and glycosylate approachmetabolically robust glycosyl compoundspost-translational glycosylationprotein glycosylationmonosaccharidesoligosaccharideslight activationdirect sugar transformationregiocontrolled chemistry
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#3 of 4,997
6418m citations

Complete biosynthesis of the potent vaccine adjuvant QS-21

Laetitia B B Martin et al.Nature Chemical Biology202410.1038/s41589-023-01538-5

Anne OsbournJohn Innes Centre, United Kingdom

QS-21vaccine adjuvantChilean soapbark treeglycosylated triterpene scaffold18-carbon acyl chainT cell proliferationacyl chain biosynthesisheterologous expression in tobacco20-step biosynthetic pathwaytriterpene glycosideimmunostimulationpathway reconstitutionbioengineering of adjuvantsStructure-activity relationship
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#6 of 4,997
5018m citations

Chemical Synthesis of Human Proteoforms and Application in Biomedicine

Huasong Ai et al.ACS Central Science202410.1021/acscentsci.4c00642

Lei LiuTsinghua University, China

human proteoformschemical synthesisprotein chemical synthesispost-translational modificationnative chemical ligationexpressed protein ligationdesulfurizationpeptide synthesisprotein therapeuticsprecision diagnosticsfunctional analysismechanistic biochemistrydrug developmentsynthetic proteinsproteoform therapeutics
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#7 of 4,997
5018m citations

Restoring protein glycosylation with GlycoShape

Callum M Ives, Ojas Singh et al.Nature Methods202410.1038/s41592-024-02464-7

Elisa FaddaMaynooth University, Ireland

GlycoShapeprotein glycosylationglycan structure databaseRe-Glyco algorithmmolecular dynamics simulationN-glycosylation occupancy predictionRCSB PDBAlphaFold Protein Structure Databasehuman glycomeglycoproteomicsN-glycosylation sequonsglycoprotein structure prediction
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#9 of 4,997
4418m citations

O-GlcNAc forces an α-synuclein amyloid strain with notably diminished seeding and pathology

Aaron T Balana, Anne-Laure Mahul-Mellier et al.Nature Chemical Biology202410.1038/s41589-024-01551-2

Hilal A. Lashuel, Matthew R. PrattUniversity of Southern California, United States

O-GlcNAcylationα-synucleinamyloid strainsfibril structureseeding activityParkinson's diseasecryogenic electron microscopyseeding-based neuronal modelsrodent modelsheat shock proteinspost-translational modificationamyloid pathogenicityfibril core structureseeding neutralizationprotein interactome
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#10 of 4,997
4418m citations

Predicting glycan structure from tandem mass spectrometry via deep learning

James Urban et al.Nature Methods202410.1038/s41592-024-02314-6

Daniel BojarUniversity of Gothenburg, Sweden

glycan structure predictiontandem mass spectrometryMS/MS spectraCandyCrunchdilated residual neural networkliquid chromatography-MS/MSpost-translational modificationstructural annotationde novo annotationdiagnostic fragment identificationfragment annotationglycowork platformhigh-throughput glycomicsdeep learning for glycomicsraw data conversion
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#11 of 4,997
4318m citations

A unique serum IgG glycosylation signature predicts development of Crohn’s disease and is associated with pathogenic antibodies to mannose glycan

Joana Gaifem, Cláudia S Rodrigues et al.Nature Immunology202410.1038/s41590-024-01916-8

Salomé S. PinhoUniversity of Porto, Portugal

IgG Fc glycosylationagalactosylationanti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA)PREDICTS cohortpreclinical Crohn's disease phaseIgG2 Fc glycan traitmannose glycan recognitionFcγR-dependent signalingNF-κB signalingCARD9 signalinginflammasome activationdendritic cell reprogrammingnatural killer cell activationadoptive antibody transfer mouse modelFcγR-deficient miceanti-mannan antibodiesglycome-ASCA hubserum biomarker for disease predictionintestinal inflammation susceptibilityproinflammatory antibody glycoform
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#12 of 4,997
4218m citations

Binding of Akkermansia muciniphila to mucin is O-glycan specific

Janneke Elzinga et al.Nature Communications202410.1038/s41467-024-48770-8

Janneke Elzinga, Hanne L. P. TytgatWageningen University & Research, Netherlands

Akkermansia muciniphilamucin degradationO-glycan recognitionintestinal anaerobic bacteriummucin-bindingpasteurizationcell-based mucin arraytandem repeatsunsialylated LacNAcGalβ1-4GlcNAcβ1-R disaccharidecore2 O-glycanscore3 O-glycanscolonic mucinssialic acid cappingneuraminidase activitymucin-foraging bacteriumintestinal colonizationmucus layer
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#13 of 4,997
4118m citations

Clinical and biochemical footprints of congenital disorders of glycosylation: Proposed nosology

Bobby G Ng et al.Molecular Genetics and Metabolism202410.1016/j.ymgme.2024.108476

Nenad BlauSanford Children's Health Research Center, United States

Congenital disorders of glycosylationmonosaccharide synthesis and interconversionnucleotide sugar synthesis and transportN-glycosylationO-glycosylationlipid glycosylationvesicular traffickingmultiple glycosylation pathwaysglycoprotein degradationglycan degradationIEMbaseneurological manifestationsdysmorphic featuresskeletal manifestationsocular manifestationsCDG classification systemorgan system involvementmetabolic conditions
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#14 of 4,997
4018m citations

An N-glycome tissue atlas of 15 human normal and cancer tissue types determined by MALDI-imaging mass spectrometry

Elizabeth N Wallace et al.Scientific Reports202410.1038/s41598-023-50957-w

Elizabeth N. Wallace, Richard R. DrakeMedical University of South Carolina, United States

N-glycomeN-glycosylationMALDI mass spectrometry imagingtissue microarraysformalin-fixed paraffin-embeddedoligomannosecore fucosylationendoglycosidase F3sialic acid linkagebisecting N-acetylglucosamineglycan branching complexitytumor versus normal tissue comparisonspatial glycan profilingsialylationMALDI-IMS workflow
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#15 of 4,997
3818m citations

Pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts modulate macrophage differentiation via sialic acid-Siglec interactions

Kelly Boelaars et al.Communications Biology202410.1038/s42003-024-06087-8

Yvette van KooykAmsterdam UMC, Netherlands

pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomacancer-associated fibroblastsCAFssialic acidSiglecsSiglec-7Siglec-9Siglec-10Siglec-15ST3GAL4tumor microenvironmentmyeloid cellstumor-associated macrophagesmonocyte differentiationmultiplex immunohistochemistryTranscriptomicssialylationImmune checkpointCAF-mediated immunomodulation
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#16 of 4,997
3818m citations

Phenylboronic acid-functionalized biomaterials for improved cancer immunotherapy via sialic acid targeting

Ashok Kumar Jangid et al.Advances in Colloid and Interface Science202410.1016/j.cis.2024.103301

Kyobum KimDongguk University, South Korea

phenylboronic acidsialic acid targetingCancer immunotherapyfunctionalized biomaterialsboronic acid-sialic acid interactiontumor microenvironment modulationImmune checkpoint blockadeglycan shieldingdesialylationAntitumor immunityT cell activationimmunosuppressive microenvironmentbiomaterial designglycocalyx modificationtherapeutic efficacy enhancement
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#17 of 4,997
3718m citations

Protein glycosylation in cardiovascular health and disease

John C Chatham et al.Nature Reviews Cardiology202410.1038/s41569-024-00998-z

John C. ChathamUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham, United States

protein glycosylationcardiovascular diseaseN-glycosylationO-glycosylationglycoproteinsglycosyltransferaseglycan structuresendothelial functioncardiac remodelingatherosclerosisinflammationglycocalyxpost-translational modificationBiomarkertherapeutic targets
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#18 of 4,997
3718m citations

Integrated chemoenzymatic synthesis of a comprehensive sulfated ganglioside glycan library to decipher functional sulfoglycomics and sialoglycomics

Zhuojia Xu et al.Nature Chemistry202410.1038/s41557-024-01540-x

Tiehai LiChinese Academy of Sciences, China

chemoenzymatic synthesissulfated gangliosidesglycan librarysulfoglycomicssialoglycomicsganglioside glycanssulfation patternsenzymatic glycosylationsialic acidglycan sulfotransferasessialyltransferasefunctional glycomicsganglioside structurescarbohydrate sulfationoligosaccharide synthesis
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#19 of 4,997
3618m citations

Sialylated glycoproteins suppress immune cell killing by binding to Siglec-7 and Siglec-9 in prostate cancer

Ru M Wen et al.Journal of Clinical Investigation202410.1172/jci180282

Ru M WenDepartment of Urology, United States

Siglec-7Siglec-9sialylated glycoproteinsimmune evasionmyeloid cellsmacrophageprostate tumor tissuesialic acidimmune cell infiltrationhumanized miceCRISPRi screenmass spectrometryCD59Siglec-9 ligandCD59/Siglec-9 axisImmune checkpointprostate cancer xenograft
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#20 of 4,997
3418m citations

Rapid simulation of glycoprotein structures by grafting and steric exclusion of glycan conformer libraries

Yu-Xi Tsai et al.Cell202410.1016/j.cell.2024.01.034

Shang‐Te Danny Hsu, Cyril Hanus, Mateusz SikoraAcademia Sinica, Taiwan

GlycoSHIELDN-glycosylationO-glycosylationglycan conformer librariessteric exclusionmolecular dynamics simulationsmall-angle X-ray scatteringcryogenic electron microscopymass spectrometryN-cadherinhuman coronavirus spike proteinsgamma-aminobutyric acid receptorsglycoprotein structure predictionglycan conformational freedommembrane protein glycosylation
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Dominant research themes and year-over-year shifts in Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research

What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 is dominated by foundational studies in N-glycosylation and its role as a key post-translational modification. Sialic acid biology remains highly prominent, reflecting its importance in cellular interactions and immune evasion. We observe a strong representation of structural and mechanistic approaches, notably molecular dynamics simulations and stereoselective synthesis of glycans, which are essential for dissecting complex glycosylation patterns. Furthermore, the intersection of glycobiology with immunology is a major theme, highlighted by concepts like cancer immunotherapy, the tumor microenvironment, and immune checkpoint regulation.

Leading research themes
Leading research themes

How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

We see a dramatic surge in specific signaling and structural topics. NF-κB signaling and generalized sialylation emerged from a near-zero baseline frequency in 2025 to become prominent themes in 2026. N-glycosylation research also experienced a massive 5-fold increase in representation, underscoring a renewed focus on this core modification. Cancer immunotherapy applications similarly tripled in frequency. Conversely, O-GlcNAcylation research decreased by half compared to the previous cohort, alongside slight decreases in general post-translational modification focus. Overall, the data indicates a shift away from broader profiling towards specific, translationally relevant pathways like immune evasion and specialized sialic acid signaling.

How topics shifted year over year
How topics shifted year over year
Methodology

PRI identifies high-impact research using a transparent, topic-agnostic framework applied consistently across scientific domains. Bibliographic records are drawn from OpenAlex, including publication dates, citation relationships, and document types.

This ranking covers the Class of 2026 cohort: journal articles published in 2024. Reviews and other non-article document types are excluded to ensure comparability.

Research impact is quantified with an 18-month post-publication citation window—the number of citing works published within 18 months of each paper's publication date. This metric captures early impact while controlling for publication age.

An LLM-based relevance classifier then reviews each candidate's title and abstract to confirm substantive alignment with the target domain. Only papers classified as relevant appear in the final ranking.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459

Full methodologyGitHubbioRxiv preprint

Cite this ranking

Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/glycosylation-and-glycoproteins-research/2026. Accessed 2026-07-19.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459